A Teasing History Of Burlesque
episode
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
55 min
2 speakers
5 chapters
transcribed 3 months ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Do you want even more shocking and scandalous history? Like why the ancient Greek statues had such small manhoods or what went on behind closed doors in the Georgian era? Well sign up to History Hit where you can see me discover the scandalous side of history as well as hundreds of hours of original documentaries plus new releases every week covering everything from prehistoric Scotland to the Treaty of Versailles. Sign up to join me in locations around the world and explore the past. Just visit historyhit.com forward slash subscribe. Hello, my lovely Batwixters. It's me, Kate Lister. Welcome back once again to Batwixter Sheets. Hello. How fabulous to see you. How have you been? But before we go any further, I do have to tell you and say it with me.
This is an adult podcast spoken by adults to other adults about adult things in an adult way, covering adult subjects and you should be an adult too. Oh, and before we go any further together, I do have to say, we've had people emailing in wanting to know where they can get hold of my new book, Flick the Story of Female Pleasure. These are mostly people in countries where it hasn't been published yet. It is coming, but it's not quite there in America, Canada, and other countries just yet. But... If you go to blackwells.co.uk, a British bookstore, they ship internationally at no extra cost. So if you just can't wait until it's published in your country, you can go to blackwells.co.uk and search for it there.
Right on with the show. It's 1910 and we are on the northeast corner of 7th Avenue and 47th Street in midtown Manhattan and a steady stream of people are entering on the ground floor of a nondescript office block. Hmm, so why are we here? It wouldn't make you think twice if it was 9am on a Monday, but it's not. It's evening. So why are people queuing up to go into an office? I think we should follow them. All of these people are here for a show, and despite the boring exterior, there is a brand new theatre in here. All elaborate plasterwork and ornamentation, red plush seating for almost 1,500 people, and there's electric lighting. Ooh, fancy. What is the show? Well, it's burlesque, so what should we expect?
Feather boas, sparkly top hats and canes, corsets, fans and stockings, and of course, a lot of nudity. But has that always been the case for burlesque? Has it always been about running around in sequins and in the nip? Hmm, well, shh, the curtain is going up, but I think we're about to find out.
Hello and welcome back to Betwixt the Sheets, the history of sex, scandal and society with me, Kate Lister.
Teasing, wit and satire. No, I'm not just talking about myself. I'm talking about the art form of burlesque. Whether you've watched the Christina Aguilera film or you've been to a taster class, most people have got some kind of understanding of what burlesque is now. But where did burlesque come from? What different forms has it taken? And which boring sods have tried to ban it? Because there's always one, isn't there? Or in this case, several hundred thousand.
Ha ha!
but they weren't successful. Marissa Vigneault is art historian at the Utah State University, and she is going to join us to tell us all about burlesque. Feathers and leathers at the ready, but Twixtas, let's do it. Well, hello and welcome to Betwixt the Sheets. It's only Marissa Vigneault. How are you doing? I'm doing lovely today. Thank you so much, Kate. It's such a pleasure to be here. Well, thank you for coming on because, you know, we've been doing this podcast for over three years now and we've never done an episode on the history of burlesque.
What's that?
It is about time, isn't it? That is about time. And you are the ideal person to be talking to us about this. But as a starter question, can you tell us how did you get interested in studying the history of burlesque?
I came to it by way of art history and specifically feminist body performance art 1970s. I've been working on Hannah Wilkie, who's just like classic feminist, amazing artist working 1960s up until her death in the early 1990s.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–8:01
2
What is the history and significance of burlesque?
8:01–16:37
3
How did burlesque evolve from its origins to the early 20th century?
16:37–19:03
4
Who are the notable figures that shaped the burlesque scene?
19:03–42:29
5
What role did censorship play in the development of burlesque?
42:29–55:18